Clued-in SRH carve a clinical way out

By their own admission, Sunrisers Hyderabad are a rigid franchise when it comes to experimenting with a settled combination. But on a season-defining night at home, they took a calculative punt they'll be immensely proud of. Mumbai Indians arrived at the back of unarguably their best batting display this year, that saw them amass 212 runs and then beat Delhi Daredevils by a 146-run margin. SRH were aware of the batting monstrosity that awaited them.

The defending champions needed something to set them apart, something to outplay a side which didn't have the axe of elimination hanging over its head, before they took the field. And thus, out went top-order stabilizer Kane Williamson for a balance-providing spin-bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nabi. 'But, why Nabi? why Williamson? Why not Henriques?' were questions answered through four tone-setting tight overs of spin bowling and an under-pressure knock of 44, worth its weight in gold.

SRH didn't just bring in Nabi, they planned a vital part of their game around him. Before he knew it, he was testing the patience of MI openers Parthiv Patel and Lendl Simmons by firing down deliveries from around the stumps. It took just four balls for the latter to crack. Simmons's wild swing was nowhere close to the ball that disturbed the stumps, drawing a barreling wave of cheers from a packed stadium.

The true purpose of summoning the offie however, lay elsewhere. Nabi had been drafted in to keep the explosive left-handers at the top of the MI line-up tied down and thus set up for other bowlers to snare. Nabi, as it turned out, followed the instructions to the T. Parthiv limped to 9 runs off the 7 balls he faced against the spinner and Nitish Rana, who has been striking the ball at over 120 this season, could squeeze out just a solitary run in the seven balls he faced. Expectedly, the pressure of stagnating at the crease consumed the young southpaw shortly.

The adrenaline that came with early wickets was palpable. David Warner paraded the field like a worked-up arranger of a grand orchestra - constantly signalling his men to swap positions and take new ones. The mini, three-way discussions (involving Warner, Bhuvneshwar and the bowler) before overs were longer than before. SRH seemed to have reached a zone by this point that nothing could've been left to chance. At every opportunity, Warner also turned around to pick on the brains of coach Tom Moody as he wasn't content with just a mere incision. His intention was to drive the dagger deep into MI's heart.

"Whenever Davey is in front of the dugout, discussing about various option. And just to know what Davey is thinking about. T20 cricket is so quick, sometimes some outside help may be useful for the captain," Laxman revealed. SRH had channeled their desperation for a win into something so meaningful, that it even rendered merit to Laxman's press conference jargon of 'sticking to strategy' and 'executing game plans'.

The early advantage in the game had a cascading effect on SRH's fielding. Barring a drop and an odd misfield, the holders were on their toes throughout. Only two days ago, they'd seen the ills of loosening the noose a little bit after beginning sharply. There was no letting up today.

But Rohit Sharma stuck out as a thorn. He fought his way out of early jitters, and a hit on the helmet, to put himself in a position to punish SRH. On a notoriously slow burner, he summoned all his class and vast IPL experience, calling the bluff on the bowlers' variations and making most of the freebies in an important partnership with Hardik Pandya. But, like a side obsessing over the two points on offer, SRH found ways to carve that open too. Rohit fought on regardless. In a season of apparent mediocrity, the multi-faceted version of Rohit was threatening to surface.

His aesthetically-unrivalled pull shot over the midwicket fence off a Bhuvneshwar off-cutter gave MI hopes of a late flurry. But that was not to be. His 44-ball 67, which on an any other day would've earned him more than just a pat on the back, ended up being a statistic devoid of a favourable result.

SRH were stretched a bit in chase, but still emerged admirably clinical. With this win, SRH have left KXIP with a trickier qualification maze and MI with a chink in their armour, while also taking a big leap towards the playoffs themselves - all in the space of three-and-half invigorating hours of work.